Fastener for typewriters



March 30, E937. G. w. COLoN $75,021

FASTENER FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed May 7, 1935 Patented Mar. 30, 1937 STATESentre PATENT OFFICE FASTENER FOR TYPEWRITERS Application May 7, 1935,Serial No. 20,222

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a fastener for detachably securing atypewriter or the like to a support and particularly to a tiltablesupport or base such as is provided in the usual folding or closingtypewriter desk.

It is a well known fact that in devices such as typewriters having amultiplicity of delicately constructed relatively movable parts operablymounted in a supporting frame of relativ-ely light construction, it isnecessary that the frame remain or be maintained in a free naturalunsprung condition or position at all times during the operation of thedevice in order to obtain the maximum efliciency and life ofthe machine.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a fastening means forremovably securing a typewriter or the like to a support whereby themachine will be maintained in a predetermined position on the base orsupport in a normal unsprung condition so that the relatively movableparts thereof may freely function without binding and excessive frictionor stress and the machine will be free to vibrate in the normal mannerduring the operation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening means forsecuring a typewriter cr the like to the supporting member of atypewriter desk in such a manner that the machine will be prevented fromfalling from the support into the desk when tilting the support to closethe desk and conceal the typewriter and at the same time permit themachine to be quickly and easily detached from or attached to thesupport to permit cleaning, repairing, interchanging or the moving ofthe machine to a remote place,

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening means fortypewriters which is readily applicable to various makes and types ofmachines.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a device of theclass described which is simple durable and economical in constructionand which comprises a pair of interlocking embers, one of which may bereadily and permanently secured to the typewriter while the other membermay be permanently secured to a desk top or other support withoutrequiring an expert mechanic and without material alteration in themachine structure or the mutilation to any appreciable extent of thesupport.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the details of the structureand to the application thereof will more fully appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the ac-r companying drawing inwhich:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of atypewriter machine and support therefor with my novel fastening deviceassociated therewith;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 2-2, Figure 1,illustrating the adjacent portion of the typewriter frame by brokenlines;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially inthe plane of the line 3 3, Figure 2, and illustrating one method ofsecuring the fastening means to the frame of a typewriter by theutilization of the foot or supporting member and the clamping screwtherefor;

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a slightly modif-led form ofthe fastener strap shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the clamp;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating amodified form of typewriter foot and the manner of securing the fastenerstrap in position;

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line I-l, Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view illustrating still another form oftypewriter supporting member and manner of securing my novel fasteningmeans to the frame;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a modified form of the strap shown inFigure 2; and

Figure 10 is a still further modification of my fastener strap and meansof releasably securing the same to a base or support.

In Figure 1 of the drawing I 'have illustrated a portion of aconventionally constructed typewriter comprising a frame I provided withresilient feet 2, preferably composed of rubber, for supporting the sameupon a base or table top 3. The frame I comprises longitudinallyextending side members 4 and a front end or cross member 5 which tiesthe side members together.

The typewriter is shown as having the usual banks of keys 6 and a spacerbar l arranged adjacent the front cross member 5 of the frame in a planebetween said cross member and the keys 6. It is to be understood thatwhile I have shown only two feet for the frame I, said frame may beprovided with any desired number of such feet and each foot, asillustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, is a frusto-conical member composedof rubber or other resilient material and is secured to the side membersof the frame by clamping screw 8 which extends upwardly through acentral aperture provided in the foot.

My novel fastener, as illustrated in the drawing, consists primarily oftwo members, namely, a strap I!) and a clip il. The strap I is aresilient member preferably formed from a single piece of wire as shownin Figure 4 composed of 5 steel, brass or other suitable material. Thestrap is a substantially V-shaped member formed by bending anintermediate portion of the wire to form a transverse portion I3 ofconsiderably less length than the width of the typewriter frame I andtworesilient arms i4 of equal length and which extend outwardly fromrespective ends of the transverse portion and at one side thereof indiverging planes.

The outer ends of the arms are bent outwardly in a direction away fromeach other and are then looped to form an eyelet I5 adapted to receive aclamping screw or bolt as 8 therethrough. The looped portion of each endof the strap is preferably flattened at opposite sides thereof as at I6so as to provide a relatively broad surface for contact with adjacentsurfaces of cooperating members for maintaining the bracket in apredetermined position relative to the frame I, said eyelets beingspaced apart a distance substantially equal to the transverse spacing ofthe corresponding feet 2.

When the structure of the machine permits, I preferably, as shown inFigures 1, 2, and 3, utilize the foot or pad members 2 positionedadjacent the keys 6 for securing the strap Il) to the frame I of thetypewriter. When the strap is secured to the frame in this manner, thetwo forwardly positioned feet 2 of the machine are removed frorn theframe. The loop ends of the strap are then placed between a respectivefoot and the frame and secured in place by the clamping screw 8 for thefoot which is extended through the eyelet I5 of the corresponding arm ofthe strap, as shown in Figure 3. 40, The ends of the arms may bepositioned directly in contact with the frame, or as shown in Figure 3,a bushing I8, preferably composed of resilient material such as rubber,leather or the like, is positioned between the arm ends and the frame,and the screw 8 is tightly screw-threaded into the frame to securely andrmly fasten the foot, strap, bushing and frame to each other.

When the strap I0 is thus secured to the frame I, the arms I4 of thestrap extend outwardly in substantially parallel relation to the lowerface of the frame and, therefore, to the support 3. In order that thestrap will be maintained in a plane beneath the adjacent relativelymovable parts of the machine, as the key arms or levers 6 and the arms Iof the spacer bar 1, to permit the free action of these members, eacharm I4 of the strap is provided with an offset portion 2D spaced a shortdistance from the outer end thereof. This offset 20 also functions tonormally maintain the transverse portion I3 of the strap and theadjacent portions of the arms I4 in spaced substantially parallelrelation to the plane of the other or outer end portions of the arms sothat when the strap is in the operative position in engagement with theclip I I, as shown in Figure 1, the frame I will be supported naturallyby the feet 2 as will presently more clearly appear. 'Ihe length of thearms I4 is such that when secured to the frame I, the transverse portionI3 of the strap will lie inside the frame I in slightly spaced relationto the forward cross member 5 and substantially midway between the sidemembers 4, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

However, the arms I4 may, if desired, and as shown more clearly inFigure 2, each be formed of two sections as I4 and I4 having theiradjacent end portions provided respectively with right and left externalscrew threads and joined together by a turnbuckle coupling Il. Thislatter structure obviously permits the over-all length of the arms I4 tobe shortened or lengthcned as desired within limits so that the strap isthus equally applicable to different machines wherein the distance fromthe feet 2 to the end 5 of the frame varies. This is due to the factthat the transverse portion I3 of the strap may be uniformly positionedrelative to the space bar 'l' and keys S of the different machines.

The strap I0 is releasably secured to the support 3 by the clip I Iwhich, in this instance, comprises a base plate 2| having a pluralityof, in this instance, three holes 22 for the reception of a like numberof screws 23 by which the clip is secured to the support 3. One end ofthe plate 2I is provided with an upwardly projecting vertical extension24 which has the outer portion thereof return bent to form a hook 25which is of less vertical height than the extension 24 and is spacedfrom the lower face of the plate 2I a distance substantially equal to orslightly greater than the diameter of the transverse portion I3 of thestrap I so that said transverse portion may be readily passed betweenthe member 25 and the support 3 when bringing the strap into or out ofoperative relation with the clip I.

The width of the hook slot as 26 is also substantially equal to thediameter of the transverse portion I3 of the strap I0, while the widthof the hook 25 is substantially equal to the length of said transverseportion of the strap so that when the strap is in operative engagementwith the clip, the strap and, therefore, the typewriter frame I will befirmly maintained against lateral movement by the clip.

The vertical length of the offset portion 2U of the arms I4 and theheight of the clip portion 24 are so related that when the strap I0 issecured at one end to the typewriter frame I and has the transverseportion thereof in engagement with the clip I I, said transverse portionwill be maintained by a relatively slight tension of the arms I4 inengagement with the upper end of the hook slot 26 so that the typewriterwill be maintained by the clip and strap against longitudinal movementupon the support 3.

It will, therefore, be understood that the typewriter, while beingsecurely maintained in a predetermined position upon the support againstlongitudinal and lateral movement relative thereto, is not tightlyclamped to the support by the fastening means but is permitted to besupported naturally thereon by the resilient feet 2 so that the freedomof action of the machine during operation is not impaired in any way bythe fastening means. Furthermore, it will be understood that thetypewriter may be readily secured to the support 3 in a predeterminedposition after the clip I I has been connected to the support by merelyflexing the arms I4 downwardly to bring the transverse portion of thestrap beneath the lower edge of the clip member 25 and then moving thetypewriter frame and strap I0 longitudinally of the support to bring thetransverse portion into or out of registration With the slot 26 of theclip.

This flexing of the strap arms is readily accomplished by the aid of aninstrument, such as a lead pencil, paper knife or the like, which may bebrought into contact with the strap I0 by inserting the same between thebank of keys 6 and the spacer bar I.

In Figures 6 and 7 I have illustrated the strap I as being provided witha modified form of means for securing the strap to a typewriter framehaving a modied form of feet structure. In the structure illustrated inthese two views, the feet as 25 instead of being circular in plan vieware substantially rectangular while the ends 26 of the arms I4 of thestrap are bent to extend longitudinally of the frame at substantiallyright angles to the plane of the transverse portion I3. The outerlongitudinal face of the ends 25 may, as shown more particularly inFigure 7, be :Hattened and secured by spot welding or other suitablemeans to one side of a cap 28. The cap 28 is of an inverted cup-shapedformation substantially rectangular in plan view for reception of theupper end of a foot member 25.

The center of the cap 28 is provided with an aperture for the receptionof the clamping screw 8 utilized for securing the foot 25 to the frame.In this structure it will be noted that when the cap is mounted betweenthe foot 25 and the frame in the manner illustrated in Figure 6 that thecap is clamped directly in contact with the frame so that there will besubstantially no flexing of the cap or adjacent end of the strap arms I4during the engaging or disengaging of the strap with the clamp I I.

In Figure 8 I have shown a still further modied manner of securing thefastening strap IIJ to the frame. In the structure indicated in thisView, the foot as 30 is a cylindrical member having a reduced endportion 30 which is inserted in a suitable socket in the frame I andwhich is maintained therein by friction, glue or other suitable means.Where the machine is provided with this type of feet I preferably usev afastener strap similar to that illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 4 andsecure the strap to the frame by a clamping screw or bolt 3l whichextends through the eyelets I of the strap and is screw-threaded in theframe of the machine in close proximity tol and at the rear of acorresponding foot 3B.

In Figure 9 I have shown a slightly modified form of fastener strap.This strap as IIJ comprises a V-shaped portion formed in substantiallythe same manner as the strap I0 and has the arms I4 thereof tiedtogether intermediate their ends by a brace 33.

This brace 33 may, as shown, be composed of spring wire or othersuitable material and extends transversely of the arms I-'I insubstantially parallel relation with the transverse portion I3 and issecured at the ends thereof to the arms in any suitable manner as byspot welding or the like. While the brace 33 is not necessary to thesuccessful operation of my device, its utilization may provide for theforming of the strap from wire having a relatively small diameter.

In Figure l0 of the drawing, I have shown a still further modified formof strap III". In this structure the strap is formed in substantiallythe same manner as that shown and described for the structure shown inFigures 1, 2, and 4 with the exception that the transverse portion as I3of the strap is of substantially greater length than the transverseportion I 3 of the strap I5 while the arms I4 of the strap extendoutwardly from the transverse portion in nearer parallel relation thanthey do in the structure shown in Figures l, 2, and 4. Furthermore, whenemploying the strap I0" I preferably use two clips i I for releasablysecuring the strap to the support 3. The two clips II are positioned atrespective ends of the transverse portion I3 of strap I0" in closeproximity to the respective arms I4 so as to prevent the lateraldisplacement of the strap and, therefore, the typewriter connectedtherewith when the strap is in operative engagement with the clips.

Although the construction and operation of my novel fastening means areparticularly simple, practical and efficient, I do not wish to belimited to the exact construction shown as it is evident that variouschanges may be made in the detail construction without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga one-piece member adapted to be permanently secured to opposite sidesof the typewriter frame, a clip releasably engaging said member, andmeans for permanently securing the clip to the support.

2. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga resilient onepiece member adapted to be permanently secured toopposite sides of the typewriter frame, a clip releasably engaging anintermediate portion of the member, and means for permanently securingthe clip to the support.

3. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga member having resilient arms adapted to be attached to a typewriterframe arranged in spaced relation to extend longitudinally of the framefrom the point of attachment, and a transverse portion connecting thearms together, and means releasably engaging said transverse portion forsecuring the member to the support.

4. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga member composed of a single piece of spring wire bent to form atransverse portion, and a pair of arms lextending outwardly from saidtransverse portion in spaced relation, the ends of said arms beingprovided with means for attachment to the frame of a typewriter, andmeans engaging the transverse portion of the member for releasablyconnecting the same to the support.

5. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga member composed of a single piece of spring wire bent to form atransverse portion, and a pair of arms extending outwardly from saidtransverse portion in spaced relation, the ends of said arms beingprovided with means for attachment to the frame of a typewriter, meansengaging the transverse portion of the member for releasably connectingthe same to the support, and a brace connecting said arms intermediatethe ends thereof.

6. A device for releasably securing a typewriter to a support comprisinga member composed of spring wire bent to form a transverse portion and apair of arms extending outwardly from said transverse portion in spacedrelation, the ends of said arms being provided with means for attachmentto the frame of a typewriter, and a clip engaging the transverse portionof the member for releasably connecting the same to the support, saidclip being substantially equal in width to the length of the transverseportion for maintaining the member against lateral displacement.

7. A device for releasably securing the frame member of a typewriter orthe like to the support member comprising a strap having a transverseportion and sectional arms extending outwardly from the transverseportion at one side thereof, said arms being provided at their outerends With means for attachment to one of said members, means adjustablysecuring the arm sections together to permit the overall length of thearms to be varied, and means for securing the transverse portion of thestrap to the other one of said members.

8. A mounting for a typewritingmachinewherein the machine is detachablyheld to a supporting base by a resilient metal bail which is located atthe under side of the front portion of the machine and has across-member which extends transversely of the machine and side membersGLENN W. COLON.

